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Chicken Cacciatore from Le Mirage on June Street in Worcester

I am no stranger to Le Mirage. In fact, I have been known to visit the Mediterranean restaurant several times a month, usually ordering the tried and true Eggplant Parmesan, but for the sake of Worcester Foodies I decided to try something new—the Chicken Cacciatore.

To warm up to my dinner, I started with house made hummus with vegetables—the familiar texture was perfect, with just the right amount of zest from the lemon and kick from garlic.

The Chicken Cacciatore is typically served with sautéed peppers, onions and mushrooms. Instead of being served over penne pasta with a house made marinara sauce, I opted to have a side of spinach—everything at Le Mirage is made to order, so substitutes are no problem. The chicken was perfectly portioned and tender. The spicy sauce had a bit of a kick, which blended perfectly with the peppers and onions while complimenting the smooth texture of the tender mushrooms.

The meal was too big to finish for dinner, which delighted me as I was able to enjoy it for lunch the next day—it was even better the second time around. Overall, Le Mirage has hit a home run with this excellent meal. -CM

With a name like Caffe Espresso Trattoria, my mind conjured up a picture of a small storefront Café with a limited seating and menu. I was pleasantly surprised to find a larger establishment neatly tucked away behind a Rite Aid Pharmacy. This is definitely one of those locations you need to know where it is because you are not likely to stumble upon it in your travels. With that being said, the restaurant was very busy for a Tuesday night. After being seated we were served bread and olive oil. The atmosphere was pleasant, conversations were slightly difficult due to the bustling restaurant that seemed to carry noise. I chose as my main course Chicken All’ Arrabiata which was served with a soup or salad. The Chicken Vegetable soup tasted freshly made but was rather plain. Fortunately the spice and complex flavors would follow in the next course.

The Chicken All’ Arrabiata (from the Italian for angry) was a masterfully prepared dish that was described as Sautéed Chicken Breast with peperoncini peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a spicy wine garlic sauce. The dish was served over a homemade cavatelli pasta. The cavatelli pasta was perfectly prepared and absorbed the complex tastes of the white wine, peperoncini, garlic sauce. The chicken as perfectly sautéed thin chicken breast medallions that were easy to cut with a fork and the zesty spice from the sauce paired perfectly with this dish. The peperoncini peppers were a slight variation from the typical preparation that usually uses more red pepper, but this is definitely a dish that would have me seeking out this hidden jewel again. After finishing this dish I felt very content and full.